Nike's most powerful men -- Chairman Phil Knight, CEO Mark Parker and Brand President Charlie Denson -- watched last night's Portland-Cleveland game courtside in the Rose Garden. P&P Blog is, as you know, no expert. But it figures the Swoosh brass came away liking what they saw, even if most of the rest of the nation wasn't watching.

Nike's marquee on-the-court basketball ambassador, LeBron James, took over the game in the final minutes and willed his team to a one-point, come-from-behind win over the still-young and overly awed Trail Blazers.

James' fan appeal was evident throughout, not only from the filled seats in the sold-out Rose Garden, but from the throngs lingering outside the visitors' locker rooms and team bus hoping to catch a glimpse or nab an autograph from the NBA's leading scorer. Even a Rose Garden usher stationed between Sections 315 and 316 could be seen whooping it up throughout the game when LeBron slammed the ball or hit a clutch 3-pointer.

Unfortunately, not a whole lot of the rest of the nation saw the performance, despite the game's earlier-than-normal 6 p.m. Pacific Time start. According to ESPN, which televised the game, the contest drew a .9 overnight rating nationwide, which roughly translates into about 1 million viewers -- fairly low even by cable standards. And the sales of James' Nike shoes haven't been able to stop the general slide that the basketball shoe category is seeing nationwide.

Regionally, on KGW, the game drew an 8.7 rating, team chief operating officer Mike Golub said. In Oregon and Southwest Washington, ESPN drew a rating of 3.6, he said. And the Rose Garden set a single-game record for food and beverage sales, despite the early start and somewhat late crowd, Golub said. But even playing against LeBron, the Trail Blazers still haven't been able to grab the nation's attention.